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Space Brothers

At some point in most children’s lives, there comes a time when they dream about space. The infinite possibilities tickles every child’s imagination, and it is not uncommon to find some child dreaming of becoming an astronaut. This deep connection with the final frontier I would argue is ingrained into human nature. All of us have thought about space, but as we grow up, we forget about that spark of possibilities. Routine takes over, and before we know it, dreams are forgotten. That’s exactly what Space Brothers touches on.

Let me just say that as a child, I too had my moments of dreaming of space. The vast unlimited sky frightened me so much, I’ve had nightmares about being an astronaut that gets cut off from the space shuttle and is doomed to forever float in a vacuum. That being said, I was a little afraid to start watching this show (old fears die hard). I was also worried about it being to science-y for me. I personally don’t like watching mech shows for that reason. I’m not interested in some fancy terms being thrown around and watching someone start a machine… So with all due tentativeness, I ventured forward.

I wasn’t disappointed. This show isn’t just about space… it’s about characters. The key to any good show is good characters, and good character development. I honestly feel that Space Brothers is the first show I’ve seen in years that has such strong character development in the first episode. The motives of the characters are obvious, but so well ingrained into the characters that I don’t particularly care. The best part is the bond between older brother, and younger brother.

The older brother, Mutta, and the younger brother, Hibito, are both characterized early on as being average and naturally gifted, respectfully. Mutta feels that he always has to stay one step ahead of his brother. In adult life, Mutta gets fired from his job and Hibito is going to be the first Japanese astronaut on the moon.

The art is fantastic, but what can you expect? The studios A-1 Pictures and YTV have teamed up to create a well animated masterful anime. I honestly don’t see how they could go wrong, short of cutting the budget in half. It’s unique style is very true to the original source manga. Very rare is the show that catches my eye as well as this one managed to do.

The show balances well between seriousness and comedy as well. Honestly, none of the humor was presented as forceful one man manzai, as is often the case in most anime.

The thing that really hooked me, however, was the music. The composer, Toshiyuki Watanabe is very talented. I haven’t really seen any of his other works, unfortunately, so I can’t vouch for his consistency, but I fell in love instantly. This soundtrack will be had as soon as it comes out. It’s so beautifully orchestrated, it literally gave me chills in some places.

I can’t give this show enough praise. I just can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

Overall I’d give this show a 9.5, but if all the episodes are the similar to this one, I might have to go all out and give it the 10 it deserves.